PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Jobcentres: North West (10 July 2017)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed closure of a number of jobcentres in the North West on travelling time and distance for claimants.

Asked by:
Dame Angela Eagle (Labour)

We believe that it is a reasonable expectation that claimants travel to an office within three miles or 20 minutes by public transport of their existing jobcentre. This may mean slightly longer and slightly shorter journeys for some individual claimants who use our services in the North West and we have considered this when setting the criteria. There are large areas of the country where claimants have always travelled further than this without any issues.

We have assessed the distances between existing and new jobcentre locations to help customers better understand any differences in time and distance. This is to reflect the fact that people who travel to the jobcentre will use whichever type of transport suits their personal circumstances, they may not be starting their journey from their home, and not all those who use our services are claimants.

Answered by:
Damian Hinds (Conservative)
13 July 2017